Safety light for lanterns



Patented Aug. 21, 1951 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE SAFETY LIGHT FOR LANTERNS Marcella G. Kellermann, Minneapolis, Minn.

Application September 23, 1948, Serial No. 50,836

1 Claim.

My invention relates to a safety light in the form of a self-contained unit for lanterns.

An object of this invention is to provide a self-contained safety light unit of the flash light type to be placed in a portable lantern, particularly a jack-o-lantern for children to be carried in their hands.

Another object of this invention is to provide a unit of this type having switch members that are normally yieldingly separated to open the circuit and extend through an aperture in a lantern, preferably at one side thereof, where they may be pinched together, to close the circuit and light the electric bulb, by the hand of the carrier supporting the respective side of the lantern.

These and other objects of the invention will be apparent from the following detail description and illustrated in the accompanying drawings.

To the above end, generally stated, the invention consists of the novel devices and combination of devices hereinafter described and defined in the claim.

In the accompanying drawing, which illustrates the invention, like characters indicate like parts throughout the several views.

Referring to the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a face view of a j ack-o-lantern having a portion thereof broken away and sectioned to expose the safety light unit therein;

- Fig. 2 is a plan view of the unit removed from the lantern and shown in full scale;

Fig. 3 is a view partly in side elevation and partly in section taken on the line 5-3 of Fig. 2; and

Fig. 4. is a sectional view taken on the line 4-4 of Fig. 3, with the batteries removed.

The numeral 5 indicates a jack-o-lantern which may be a field pumpkin having its stem portion cut to form a cover 6 which, when removed, affords access to the interior of the lantern; or the lantern may be artificial.

The safety light unit is placed in the lantern 5 through the opening in the top thereof and loosely rests on the bottom of said lantern. This unit includes a box-like case I having a removable cover 8 held in place at its corner portions by screws 9. The interior of the case I is in the form of two upright cylindrical compartments Ill and II for individually holding two dry cell batteries I2 and I3, respectively. Adjacent side portions of the compartments I and II overlap and thus form a passageway I4 therebetween. In the bottom of each compartment is a hole I at the axis thereof, for a purpose which will presently appear.

A long flat contact strip I6 loosely rests on the bottom of the case I over the holes I5 and covers the same. This contact strip I6 is held against endwise movement by the opposite walls of the compartments I0 and II and against edgewise movement by the sides of said compartments at the passageway I4. The negative end portion of the battery I2 or its cathode ll rests on the contact strip I6 and the positive terminal of the battery I3 or its anode I8 rests on said contact strip.

An electric light bulb I9 is mounted on the cover 8 in axial alignment with the battery I2. The screw-threaded terminal 20 of the light bulb I9 extends into the case 1 through a hole 2I in the cover 8 with its central terminal 22 in contact with the anode 23 of the battery I2. The light bulbs screw-threaded terminal 20 has threaded or frictional engagement with the cover 8.

A normally open switch 24 is provided for closing the electric circuit through the batteries I2 and I3 and the light bulb I9. This switch 24' comprises two flat strips of spring metal 25 and 26 in opposing relation, the former above the latter. The switch member 25 rests flatwise at its intermediate portion on the cover 8. The inner end portion of the switch member 25 is downwardly offset and extends through a hole 21 in the cover 8. This inner end portion of the switch member 25 has therein a hole through which the screw-threaded terminal 20 extends with threaded engagement. The switch member 26 extends between the case I and its cover 8 and its inner end portion is folded downwardly upon itself, as indicated at 28, and yieldingly bears on the cathode 29 of the battery I3. A nail 30 extends through aligned holes in the switch members 25 and 26 and is driven through the cover 8 and into the wall of the case I. It is important to note that the aligned hole in member 26 is sufficiently large so that a contact with the nail 30 and a resulting short circuit may be avoided.

The switch members 25 and 26 are normally spaced in parallel relation and extend radially through a hole 3I in one side of the lantern 5 and materially outwardly thereof. Obviously, while a child is carrying the lantern 5, by placing his hands on opposite sides thereof, he may, with the fingers of his hand on the side of the lantern through which the switch members 25 and 26 extend, press said members together and thus close the electric circuit. As long as the switch members 25 and 26 are held pressed together, the lantern will remain illuminated. By intermittently closing the switch members 25 and 26,

the lantern will be flash-lighted. As soon as pressure on the switch members 25 and 26 is released, said members will spring apart and break the circuit.

Worn out batteries may be forced into positions in the compartments I!) and l l where they may be grasped by the, fingers simply by inserting a small stick or other implement through the holes [5. The batteries may then be lifted out.

From what has been said, it is evident that by means of using the safety light unit to 11-, luminate a lantern, there is not danger from fire, such as is presented by the common practice of using candles.

When the safety light unit is used in a Halloween lantern or jack-o-lantern made of a field pumpkin, the same may be readily removed and stored for use the next Halloween, or numerous other uses may be found for said unit.

The drawings illustrate a commercial form of the invention, but it will be understood that the same is capable of certain modifications as to details of construction, arrangement and, combination of parts within the scope of the invention herein disclosed,

What I claim is:

A rectangular case having two compartments open at their tops, and a contracted passageway between the compartments, a removable cover member for the case, a long narrow con.- tact strip loosely resting on the bottoms of the compartments and extending through the passageway, two dry cell batteries in the compart ments and contacting one another in the passageway and held against lateral separation by opposite sides of the compartments, an electrical light bulb above the cover member and having a circumferential terminal extending through a hole in the cover member and having screwthreaded engagement with the cover member, said bulb also having an axial terminal contacting the positive terminal of one of the batteries having its negative contact in engagement with said contact strip, and a normally open switch comprising a pair of long, narrow fiat parallel strips of metal spaced flatwise, the one above the other and extending outwardly of the case, the inner end portion of the upper switch member lying flatwise on the cover and secured thereto, from thence said switch member being bent downwardly through a hole in the cover member and again bent under the cover member and having a hole through which the circumferential terminal of the bulb extends with threaded engagement, the inner end portion of the lower switch member extending fiatwise between the cover member and the case and then bent downwardly and forwardly upon itself to afford a spring that yielding bears on the negative contact of the other battery having its positive terminal in engagement with the contact strip.

MARCELLA G. KELLERMANN.

REFERENCES CITED Ihe following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS 

